2007 Taxpayer Survey

256 taxpayers completed the survey (237 answered question 2 and 255 answered questions 3 and 6).

On a scale of 1 – 5 (1 = very dissatisfied, 5 = very satisfied), rate the following items:

	ITEM	1	2	3	4	5	2007 Wghtd. Avg.	2006 Wghtd. Avg.	2005 Wghtd. Avg.	2004 Wghtd. Avg.
1	Amount of time you had to wait.	1.9% 5 people	1.9% 5 people	7.0% 18 people	16.8% 43 people	72.4% 185 people	4.55	4.61	4.42	4.56
2	Privacy during your meeting.		2.1% 5 people	6.8% 16 people	21.5% 51 people	69.6% 165 people	4.59	4.66	4.60	4.63
3	Ability of the volunteer to provide the assistance needed within the parameters of the VITA program.			2.7% 7 people	12.2% 31 people	85.1% 217 people	4.82	4.89	4.75	4.79
4	Courtesy of the volunteer who helped you.		.4% 1 person	.8% 2 people	3.1% 8 people	95.7% 245 people	4.94	4.97	4.91	4.94
5	Once the return was completed, the volunteer explained the entries on the return.		.4% 1 person	.4% 1 person	4.3% 11 people	94.9% 243 people	4.94	4.92	4.88	N/A (Question not on survey in 2004)
6	Explanation of what you need to do next.			2.0% 5 people	9.8% 25 people	88.2% 225 people	4.86	4.92	4.85	4.78
7	Overall satisfaction with service (considering all items).			.8% 2 people	8.6% 22 people	90.6% 232 people	4.90	4.93	4.84	4.86

The two items that continue to score lower than the others deal with waiting time and privacy. The constraints for both these items are equipment and suitability of space. We have attempted to resolve the waiting time the past three years by providing more sessions in the first two busy weeks. However, we opened a new site in Galesburg, and as expected, it was quite busy. Once again, the program grew over last year (24% in prepared returns, 15% in e-filed returns) and the number of students increased (20 students this year compared to 11 last year). We continue to work well within our constraints of equipment and space, as our constituents appear to be satisfied overall with our service (100% answering 3 or above and a weighted average score of 4.90 out of 5). We are excited about the breakout rooms planned in the new business building that will better serve our constituents. If we could just find a way to get more laptops and printers!

Some taxpayers did not turn the survey over to answer the following questions on the back. Also, on the first two questions, the taxpayer could give more than one answer.

We are quite pleased with the 100% for BOTH “would you use this service again?” and “would you recommend this service to a friend needing tax assistance?” We have never received below 100% for these two items.

Word of mouth was added to the survey for the first time in 2006; it is the most popular way for people to find out about the program. Otherwise, it’s previous use of the site and the newspaper. This year, a VITA webpage was permanently added to the Accounting program’s website. A number of people wrote on the survey that they found out about the program through that site. In fact, some brought pages printed out from the site as to what to bring, the dates and times of sessions, etc. Also, the Galesburg Library did some of its own advertising (for example, through its newsletter). Some of the other ways in which people found out about the program that they wrote on the survey which were quite interesting: Knox College ☺ and the Jameson Center.

The rest of the survey provides interesting information. The majority of our constituents earn less than $32,000, and those folks are the ones we are trying to target. The age 40 – 59 category is up this year. Last year, the 25 – 39 category had more numbers. We serve all ages, and do not turn anyone away as long as their income matters are within the parameters of the program.

	Return Preparation	Electronic Filing	Tax Advice	Other
Why did you visit this site?	135 hits	142 hits	24 hits	28 hits
	IRS	Previous use of this site	Poster	Newspaper	TV/Radio	Word of mouth	Other
How did you find out about this site?	7 hits	63 hits	11 hits	55 hits	13 hits	88 hits	37 hits
	Yourself	Paid tax professional	Friend or relative	Other	Not applicable
If we had not helped you today, who would have prepared your return?	21.4% 50 people	45.5% 106 people	21.5% 50 people	8.6% 20 people	3.0% 7 people
	YES	NO
Would you use this service again?	100% 237 people
	YES	NO
Would you recommend this service to a friend needing tax assistance?	100% 237 people
	Under 25	25 – 39	40-59	60-65	Over 65
What is your age?	28.4% 67 people	18.6% 44 people	35.6% 84 people	6.8% 16 people	10.6% 25 people
	Less than $32,000	$32,000 or more
What is your household income?	72.2% 161 people	27.8% 62 people